If I am overweight/obese, should I be worried about my heart health?
Being overweight is directly linked to higher risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and even certain cancers. In this video, Dr Ravi Assomull explains how excess weight affects your cardiovascular system and overall health.
Learn more about Environmental risk factors or book a consultation with Dr Assomull – no GP referral needed, appointments typically within one working day.
Transcript
If you're overweight, you should be worried about your heart health, but should also be worried about your general health. Being overweight is associated with increased risk of heart problems, high blood pressure, but also other conditions such as diabetes, and it does increase your risk of cancer as well. So the answer is if you are overweight, you should worry about your overall health and definitely your heart health.
Being overweight puts you at increased risk of cardiovascular problems, of heart issues, because it is associated with increased blood pressure. Being overweight also increases your risk of diabetes, which in itself is a big risk factor for heart conditions. Being overweight is also associated with high levels of cholesterol, which is another risk factor for heart problems.
All of these risk factors, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and being overweight are grouped together in a condition that we refer to as the metabolic syndrome.
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